This disclosure relates to display panels in general, and more particularly, to display panels for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) having improved aperture ratios.
LCDs constitute one of the more widely used types of flat panel displays (FPDs), and typically include two display panels on which field generating electrodes, such as pixel electrodes and a common electrode, are respectively formed, with a layer of a liquid crystal material interposed between the two panels. A voltage is applied to the field generating electrodes to generate an electric field in the liquid crystal layer, which determines the orientation of the molecules of the liquid crystal layer therebetween and thereby controls the polarization of light passing through the panels so as to display an image.
Among the various types of LCDs available, one advantageous type, referred to as a vertical alignment (VA) mode LCD because the longitudinal axes of the liquid crystal molecules are arranged perpendicularly to the upper and lower display panels when no electric field is applied to the electrodes, has received increased attention lately, because the contrast ratio of such displays is relatively large, and because they enable LCDS with relatively large reference viewing angles to be produced easily.
VA mode LCDs share a major drawback with other types of LCDs, namely, a relatively narrow viewing angle. Various methods have been introduced in an effort to overcome this drawback. For example, one method includes arranging the liquid crystal molecules vertically with respect to the upper and lower substrates and then forming cutout patterns in the pixel electrodes and the electrode facing the pixel electrode. In another method, the pixel electrodes are divided into a plurality of sub-electrodes.
However, if a cutout pattern is formed in the electrodes of a pixel, the aperture ratio of the pixel is reduced proportionately to the area of the cutout pattern. Furthermore, if sub-electrodes are formed in a pixel, the aperture ratio of the pixel is also reduced, due to the presence of a connecting member needed for electrically connecting the sub-electrodes to each other.